Police Psychology | The Mental Game in Law Enforcement

Posted: February 1, 2016 in Mastering Effort
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Police Psychology | The Mental Game in Law Enforcement

“90 percent of the game is half mental” (attributed to Yogi Berra)

by Doug Gentz, Ph.D. – Psychological Services

After you’ve acquired the knowledge and skills required for any performance, further improvement depends on your ability to manage your nervous system in a way that lets you pay attention to the right thing at the right time in the right way.

Performance is measurable – scores at the range, elapsed time on an LEDT course, position on a promotional exam (or scores on subtests within a promotional exam). SNS activation levels are also measurable – heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, etc. Because attentional effectiveness is not measurable it tends to be the “missing link” between activation levels and quality of performance.

performance 1 Police pscyhology Read the rest of this entry »

Police Psychology | Can’t Stop Now

Posted: January 28, 2016 in Mastering Emotions
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Police Psychology | I Can’t Stop Now!

 

Police psychology has to deal with numbers of issues, but one that we often misdiagnose follows.

“Hey! HEY !!! What the hell are you doing?”

“I’M CLEANING OUT YOUR DRIVEWAY. What’s it look like?”

“Tim, there is a 50-70 mile an hour wind. The snow is still coming down, like hard you know. It is a blizzard, no it is a snow hurricane. It’s not safe.”police psychology, snow scene We duck as the wind carries a five foot wide unidentifiable piece of hard black plastic over our heads.

“Don’t worry. The snow blower is heavy so I won’t take off and be flying around.”

“What?! Get inside Tim. I’ll handle this tomorrow when the winds are done.”

“Nah, I got to get our driveways done before the playoff games at 3. You don’t need to stay.”

Of course I am going to stay and shovel. I can’t let the guy do my driveway all by himself, but I HATED IT! Blizzards are not fun with the wind-blown snow is acting like tiny shards of ice attacking your face. And of course the next day it is drifted as if we never touched it. Lord, transport me to a condo on the beach please!

Ever wonder what motivates some people to do this kind of thing, to persist beyond what is necessary, to not see the whole picture and the possibly cause damage by their actions? Read the rest of this entry »

Police Psychology | EMDR for LEOs

Posted: January 26, 2016 in Stories
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Police Psychology | EMDR for LEOs

By Tammy McCoy-Arballo, Psy. D.

The Counseling Team International, San Bernardino, CA

 

No, it is not hypnosis.

That is how the conversation usually starts when I talk to my clients about treating their trauma with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Doc, if we do this EMDR, you are not going to train me to bark at cars, are you?

Nope. I’ll have you barking at cats, I joke.

I just want to get past it, Doc. I don’t want it taking over my life. I’ll try anything.

My clients, the majority of whom are police officers and fire fighters, usually come to see me when they are at their wits end. They are anxious or depressed; they can’t sleep, or they can’t shake the intrusive thoughts following a critical incident. They do not ask many questions about EMDR when I introduce the topic. They only have one concern: They want to get better. Most of my clients report a decrease in symptoms after their first EMDR session. Read the rest of this entry »

Police Psychology | A Toe for Mickey

Posted: January 21, 2016 in Mastering Resilience
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Police Psychology | A Toe for Mickey

 

Mike went down to the floor a couple of times. Doubled over, holding his stomach, wrenching, trying to catch a breath between the strokes of theanxiety, Police Psychologysword that was ripping out his insides. Mike had a serious anxiety disorder compounded with a quadruple vial of hubris. He didn’t listen when I told him not to go back to work yet. “Life takes awhile to heal; medicine takes awhile to fully work,” I said. He didn’t listen when I said “your mother had this and you brother had this, it might be in your family.” Rather he listened to a boss who said “get back on the horse, psychologists don’t know about being on the job.” He got his medicine and had a flight to health, a flight that made a quick stop in the “relapse zone.”

In police psychology, we understand that some accidents and injuries are to be expected. People get injured all the time. Whether it’s stubbing your toe against a stair, twisting your ankle while stepping off the sidewalk, or accidentally walking into clear glass doors (just me?), the occurrence of accidents is largely inevitable. This same phenomenon can extend to larger Read the rest of this entry »

Police Psychology | THE SHORT LIST OF HUMAN PROBLEMS

Posted: January 19, 2016 in Mastering Resilience
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Police Psychology | THE SHORT LIST OF HUMAN PROBLEMS

Marla W. Friedman Psy.D., Board of Directors-Badge of Life

Immediate Past Chair PPSS/ILACP,  Booklight@att.net

 

In the last 35 years I have provided psychotherapy services to a wide range of patients, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. I have worked with people from every profession. However it is my experiences with veterans, law enforcement and public safety personnel that have been some of the most challenging and satisfying work that I have been involved in.

Over the years I have compiled this list to distribute to patients who are in public service so they can see that they are not alone in their struggles. I do not give the list to every patient, as I want to protect law enforcement from repercussions from the public, as some of the issues should remain private within their profession.

We can all identify with some of these statements but some are unique to under cover agents, dispatchers, firefighters and police officers.   As a result of my good fortune to work with these remarkable and brave women and men I developed this list I call, “The Short List of Human Problems.”

I have bad credit.

I can’t afford the life I’m living.

My job consumes my life.

I don’t know how to set boundaries between my job and my personal life.

I have family conflict that is getting worse and worse.

My relationships with my significant other and children are deteriorating daily.

I can’t feel emotionally close to anyone.

I have dropped my friends.

I feel Read the rest of this entry »

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